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Wednesday, September 21, 2005

UPDATED:True Diversity found among GOP contenders for Lt. Gov.

I have an update on one of the current contenders for Lt. Governor of the state of Illinois. I saw on the New Leadership Blog an interview with Eric Wallace, a black American who's currently a adjunct professor at North Park University in Chicago and he's also aminister.

Honestly I tend to cringe at a person claiming to be a minister. Its seems anyone can say "God called on me to be a minister". Aside from his selected profession I do like what he stands for, but for right now his candidacy leaves alot to be desired. Here's a quote for his interview...

...I would like to stop the culture of corruption in Illinois. I call corruption the equal opportunity destroyer because it kills initiative and squelches all hope for promotion. Under this system it is about whom you know and how many favors you have preformed before you can be promoted. Under this system there is no incentive to do your best at your job therefore it must be dismantled in order to have efficient government.

I would take this approach into education. Our state needs education reform. Millions of dollars have been poured into our school system yet we are still not getting the results we should be getting. I believe it is because money is mismanaged or outright stolen. An article in a recent paper highlighted this very point. A school administrator in a local school district was found to have stolen $100,000 from a struggling school system. They later found $700,000 in cash at the man's house.

Bad people produce bad government. Take this principle and apply it to heath-care, jobs, housing and you have my platform. I am a conservative who believes that Illinois has great potential. The motto of our campaign is "Rebuilding Illinois Future." With good moral leadership there is no reason why Illinois cannot be one of the best states to visit, live, or work in.

I honestly wish Dr. Wallace the best of luck. I hope he can convince me and many other black Illinoisians to join and support his campaign. He has a tough sell here. I'm sure he knows that. He isn't my ideal candidate so excuse if I'm not that much excited about his candidacy. He does make goo points about Illinois corruption and eduction as I have somewhat displayed in the quote about. However he has time to craft his message and market himself as a good candidate for Lt. Gov.

The next election is next year '06. I hope to cover at least the gubernatorial race next year. There have been many complaints about Blagojevich plus many experts claim he has no base. It all boils down to whether the IL GOP is able to field a good candidate to take Blagojevich on.

From the Illinois Leader.

This may be an interesting primary for governor in Illinois. The GOP is the out party right now with all the supposed disarray and ideological battles within the party. The GOP is winning nationally however in Illinois the GOP couldn't win the success that other GOP parties have around the country.

It could be said Illinoisians want 20th century style liberalism. Also if the GOP is winning on the national level with conservativism. Illinois conservatives are struggling to duplicate that success. I could even blame the corruption that doesn't just occur in Chicago but in Springfield in the state government. Look at George Ryan and whatever corruption occured during his time as secretary of state before he became governor himself.

Also I should add that nationally and perhaps even in Illinois the GOP seeks to reach out to minorities. Cicero is an hispanic GOP stronghold for instance. For blacks well the GOP have a tougher sale with almost no chance of a vote.

So this is why I mention this column that I saw from Illinois Leader. This primary may be more diverse than perhaps any primary out there in the state. The Democrats had a more diverse field back in '02 it may not be as diverse because Blagojevich wants to win a second term and he is getting allies to make sure any challenge won't turn serious.

This field includes a Sihk, a black minister, and a woman. They are all running for Lt. Governor. This field may not be that impressive but I wouldn't mind voting for the black minister. The current Lt. Govs in Maryland and Ohio are black. A Lt. Gov. was black in Colorado so why not Illinois and hopefully for the right reasons.